CDW: IT Decision Makers Concerned About Economy

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An uncertain economy may spell delays for IT purchasing, according to a new survey by the direct market reseller.

Uncertainty in the U.S. economy is giving some IT decision makers pause when they ponder their plans for 2008.

That's according to a new bi-monthly survey by CDW. The direct market reseller created the survey, CDW IT Monitor, to measure the sentiments of the IT marketplace in the United States. CDW released the inaugural survey's results on Dec. 17.

The survey of 1,072 corporate IT decision makers at businesses of all sizes not necessarily CDW customersshowed that they saw a high value for IT within the corporation, believing it is effective in achieving overall business goals.

But they were not quite as confident when it came to getting the resources to deploy technologies in 2008, according to Mark Gambill, chief marketing officer and the executive responsible for the survey.

"Right now there is a lot of confusion and uncertainty about what is going on in the overall economy," Gambill said. "There's hesitation around spending in 2008, particularly among small businesses. It's something we want to keep our eye on."

Worries about the economy may cause people to hold off on making certain purchase decisions until necessary, or until they get more visibility into marketplace conditions, according to Gambill.

The survey also found that 76 percent said IT is effective in achieving company missions and goals; 66 percent said IT investment improves financial performance or organizational efficiency; 38 percent said IT budgets will increase over the next six months; and 16 percent said IT staffing will increase over the next six months.

When asked about top obstacles to growth, the top answer cited by 41 percent of respondents was "weak economic environment," according to CDW.

Made up of two indices, the CDW IT Monitor score for December is 69. The IT Value Monitor score is 74 and measures the value decision makers place on technology for corporations. The IT growth monitor score is 63 and measures those same decision makers' confidence in their access to resources to deploy those technologies.

CDW will release the next survey results in February.

Jessica Davis covers the channel for eWeek and Channel Insider. Her technology journalism career began well before anyone heard of the World Wide Web and has included stints at Infoworld, Electronic News/EDN, and the Philadelphia Business Journal. Her work has also appeared on CNN and Forbes.com. She has covered hardware, software and networking, as well as the business side of technology. She has won several journalism awards, including a national ASBPE award for best staff-written column, and was named Marketing Computers hardest working tech journalist on their inaugural list of top tech journalists. Jessica can be reached at jessica.davis@ziffdavisenterprise.com

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